Machine for making flexible tubing.



P. WILKIE. MACHINE FOB MAKING P11111511: TUBING.

nruoumx nu mo. 14, no.

964 595. PafiantedJnlylQJQlO.

" I ROI-OI "rill M. Iii-mm A0.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED WILKIE, or NEWARK, New JE-R'SEY.

MACHINE FOR MAKING FLEXIBLE TUBING.

964,595. Specifications? 1mm Patent Patented July 19, 1910.

Application filed December 14. 1909. Serial No. 532.983.

To y Comm: drel. and corresponding]v the distance of lie it. known that I. Flinn 'tmttiz. a citithe rolls 15 from the nntndrel. These rolls zen of the United States. residing at New- 15 are mounted on a shaft 16, the shaft in ark. in the countv of Essex and State of each case passing through the boxes 13 and .\ew lersc. v. have invented certain new and being positively driven by means of the densefnl Improvements in Machines for Makvice herein described. The feed rolls 15 are ing Flexible Tubing; and I do hereby deplaced circamfcreutially around the mandrel clare the following to he a full, clear. and so as to bear on the S-shaped strip of macxact description of the invention. such as terial 17 which is wound in the form of a will enable others skilled in the art to which helix to fortn the tubing. In forming the it appertains to make and use the same. refhelix the strip of material passes around the erentc being bad to the accompauyi-n-g drawmandrel at a pitch that. is according to the ings. and to figures of reference marked .width of the strip and its engaging portions. thereon, which form a part of this speciti- The rollers are arranged to coincide with 5 cation. this pitch so that each successive roller is a This invention relates to a machine for little farther advanced from the face plate making tubular structures of strips of maso that the flange 18 on each roll will engage terial. particularly flexible tubing made up the portion 1!) of the strip 17, and the flat of a strip of metal. the strip being wound face 20 of each roll will engage the flat por- 20 upon itself to form a helix and being of a tion :21 of the strip 17 to force the adjacent formation having its edges interlocked on edges of the strip-to'iuterlock. the flange 18 the abutting edges of the convolutionsof the of each roll pressing the portion 19 firmly helix. and tightly down a 'ainst the edge of the The invention is further designed to pronext preceding C(HIWfiHiiOH-SO that the parts vide a structure having a mandrel on which will have no slide longitudinal of the flexible the tubing is wound and having eo-acting tube being formed. The rolls are thus arrollcrs and guiding plates so that the strip ranged at an obtuse angle to the axis of the of material is properly fed and caused to mandrel. Between the feed rolls are the engage the next succeeding convolution, guiding blocks 22 which are also arranged '30 whereby the parts are closely interlocked. according to the pitch of the convolutions of The invention is also designed to provide the helix. this pitch being preferably supa frictionalconnection between the driving plied b v mounting the guiding plates on a means and the rollers and guiding plates and ring 23 which fits against the face plate 10 also the mandrel to cause a pull on the strip and is cut with its face .24 at the same pitch of material being fed to the device. and asthe convolutious of the tube being formed. permit a slipping when the pttll on the de- Each guide plate, on its face toward the vice exceeds the rate of the feed. mandrel, is provided with a hook 25. which The invention illustrated in the accomhook is turned toward the face plate and is pauving drawing, in whichdesigned to engage the outer turned over Figure 1 is a face view of the device. portion of the edge 26 of the strip of mate- Fig. 2 is a side view thereof. Fig. 3 is a. rial 17 being fed to the machine, as shown section illustrating the fitting together of more particularly in Fi". 4. The hooks 25 the convolutions of the helix and showing act to overcome any ten dencv of the flanges one of the feed rolls engaging the same. 18 of'the rollers to crowd the convolutions Fig. 4 is a section of one of the guide plates, or the strip of. material, and maintain each and Fig. 1' is a detail of the connection beconvolution at the same width. The rollers tween the driving shaft and the driving 15 and their shafts 16 are connected, by any means for the feed rolls. usual flexible shat'ting 27, with the shafts The device consists of a face plate 10 28 which pass through the boxes 251 in the 105 which is secured to a hearing 11 in which is rear plate 30. which boxes are adjustable mounted the nn ndrcl 1:2. which mandrel by means of the screws 31. On each of the forms the element on which the flexible shafts 28- is mounted a gcar-wltcel 32, these tubing is wound. Thev face plate 10 has at'- gear-wheels surrounding and all being in ranged therein the adjustable boxes 13 which mesh with a gear 33 mounted on theshaft 110 are adjusted by means of the screws 14 to 34 which is a contii'iuation of or integral vary the distance of the boxes from the manwith the mandrel 1 2.

This gear connection the arrangement of the rolls 15 at an angle r to the axis of the mandrel, and therefore at an angle to the axis of the tube being formed This machine is adapted for use in con ncction with any of the well known machines for forming the metal into the S- shaped strip, the device herein illustrated being driven. either from the machine for forming the strip, or from an independent source of power. In Fig, l, 1 illustrate rollers 35 for the purpose of showing conveutioual means for feeding the strip-1T to the machine for forming the tubes, and

the mandrel l2 and the rollers 15 are driven at a speed to keep the strip 17 taut to make it feed into the convolution without danger of its becoming misplaced. If the feed of the mandrel 12, and therefore of the rolls 15, exceeds the feed of the rollers 35, the.

strip 17 will be severed, and to overcome this I install a frictional drive for the shaft 134, this frictional drive being of any well known form, but I prefer to use the. one illustrated in Fig. 2 consisting of parallel plates 36 securedto the shaft 34 and flanking a sprocket or similar driven element 37, the sprocket having, between its sides. and adjacent faces of the flanges 3t leather or any other suitable plates or washers 38 which serve to transmit the motion from the sprocket to the plates and thereby to the shaft, but when the strain on the strip 17, if the feed is too fast, exceeds the speed of the rollers 35, the sprock at will slip between the washers 3S, and in this way danger of breaking the strip 17 is overcome.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim is: t

1. A machine for making flexible tubing comprising a mandrel adapted to rotate, rolls arranged at anobtuse angle to the axis of the mandrel and adjacent to the mandrel,

and blocks having hook-shaped ortions adapted to engage the inateria being wound. the hook-shaped portions of the blocks being arranged att'he same angle to the axis of the mandrel as the rolls.

2. A machine for forming flexible tubing comprising a mandrel adapted to rotate, rolls adapted to engage a strip being wound on the mandrel, means for driving the rolls from the mandrel, and guide blocks arranged at the same m le as the rolls'and between the rolls, the blocks having hooks to engage the strip on the mandrel.

? on, guiding blocks having hook-shaped portions adjacent to the mandrel and adapted to engage the material being wound, the hook-shaped portions of the blocks being arranged at an obtuse angle to the axis of the mandrel,.means for adjusting the rolls toward and from the mandrel, and means for driving the rolls '4. A machine for making flexible tubing comprising a bearing having a mandrel mounted therein, a face plate, boxes arranged to slide in the face plate, rolls rotatahly mounted on the boxes, the rolls being arranged at an obtuse angle to the axis of the mandrel, a, gear on the mandrel, a back plate, gears mounted on the back platennd in mesh with the gear on the mandrel, a flexible connection between each gear on the back plate and a roll, means for driving the mandrel, and guide blocks secured to the face plate and having hook-shaped portions thereon arranged at the same angle to the axis of the mandrel as the rolls.

5. A machine for making .flexihle tubing comprising a bearing having a mandrel mounted therein, a face plate, rolls arranged at an obtuse angle to the axis ofthe mandrel,

means for adjustably securing the rolls on the faceplate, a ring arranged in the face plate around the mandrel, the ring bein formed with a surface that is helical an has the same pitch as the material being wound on the mandrel, blocks on the face of the ring and having hook-shaped portions to en age the material to be wound on the mandre an operative connection between the mandrel and the rolls, and means for driving the mandrel.

6. A machine for making flexible tubing comprising a mandrel adapted to rotate, rolls arranged at an obtuse angle to the axis of the mandrel and adjacent to the mandrel, and blocks having portions to engage and guide the material to be wound on the mandrel to form the tubing, the blocks being so disposed that they engage the material hetween the rolls, the portions of the blocks for engaging the material being arranged at the same angle to the axis of the mandrel as the rolls.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of December 1909.

FRED WILKIE.

M. A. Jouxsox. i 

